One-day tour of the neighbor association.

 

The chonaikai's one-day tour was carried out today in the rain. We chartered a bus and the bus started from our 6-chome minipark at 7:45 a.m. 42 people including Mr.Moriya, the president of our association. Our bus went along the coast line and turned right at Shiraoi and ran along Shikisai Roard to Ohtaki village. It was raining and the leaves of trees hadn't turned to autumn colors yet. We arrived at Hamada Fruit Garden. We enjoyed there picking and eating apples and grapes.

Nichi Hamu won again over Seibu.

   Two more wins for gainning the pennant of the 2012 championship race.

Nippon Ham Fighters will hopefully win the championship.

  The first game of the Hokaido Nippon Ham's last two game series against the Saitama Seibu Lions was played at Sapporo Dome, and  the Nippon Ham won by 5-0. Nakata hit two home runs, one two-run homer, the other three-run homer, and Yoshikawa, the pitcher shut out the Seibu Lions. If Nippon Ham win 4 games in the 5 games left for this season, Seibu will not be able to catch up with Nippon Ham. I hope Nippon Ham will win the 2012 pennant race.
  It was cloudy with scattered rain, but I walked about an hour toward Kawazoe cho in the morning.  

Harvested soy beans in Furusato Noen.

  It was cloudy all day.  Enjoying field work in Furusato Noen is coming to the end. In the afternoon, I went to our field with Ayako and harvested all the soy beans and cleared the tomato plants and returned home.
  These days, the bad weather has been continuing, so I am afraid we can carry out the one-day trip of our neighborhood association as we have planned. So in the evening, I phoned Mrs.Murayama, chief of the organizing section, asking if it rains on next Sunday. She answered we would go whether it would rain or not. I don't hope it will rain. 

Yesterday,Spt.25, I attended the reunion of our coleagues in Naie

  Yesterday, in the heavy thunder rain continuing from the previous night, I left home to Naie to attend the reunion to be held every four year. I took a train by way of Iwamizawa. I got off at Iwamizawa station to change the train for Asahikawa, and looked around the station a little while. By the way, Iwamizawa was where my family lived just after we first came over to Hokaido and lived till I graduated from university. I remember well the former building of the station because I commuted to my university in Sapporo for four years. But the building was rebuilt two years ago, so it looked very new to me. The station square, which used to be only a dirt space, was a beautiful plaza paved with brick-like slates. In the center of the square, there were some bronze statues of young boys and girls under big trees.
  I arrived at Naie an hour earlier than I had planned. I met a foreign gentleman in front of the station and talked in English. He was an engineer and came on business. He went somewhere by taxi. Then I killed time drinking coffee at a coffee shop. I got on a hotel bus in which there had been some former colleagues of mine.

  The party began just after we arrived at the hotel. 25 people attended the party, and we enjoyed eating, drinking, and talking.

A new refrigerator

  The other day when we went to the electric appliance shop, Ayako ordered a new refrigerator. The brand new fridge came to our house. In the morning, Ayako and I took out all the foods contained in the old refrigerator to prepare replace the fridge to a new one. Mr.Hatano, the boss of the shop with a young man. It took about half an hour to change the fridge.
  Today, I finished writing the letter to Mr.Nishimura and sent it to him in Okinawa. 

Today was the field day of the neighborhood association.

I had to go to 6 chome minipark at 7:30 a.m. to prepare for the field day of our neighborhood association. We set two big tents, carried vegetables and other articles for daily use which are the prizes for the participants in the field day.
  The field day began at 9:30. First we did the radio exercise following the greeting speech by Mr.Sato, the chairperson of the organizeing committee. Then, we had various events, including "pan kui kyosou" running race biting bread. Flavored by fine autumn weather, people, old and young, enjoyed the games and races very much. The number of the participants were over 150.

Ayako came home in the afternoon.

  It was a very sunny morning. I worked weeding in the garden. I wrote a letter to Mr.Nishimura, but I didn't finish it. I mainly wrote about my travel in China. Ayako returned home from Sapporo at around 3:00. Ayako said she was moved by the poems which 7-year-old Arashi wrote, and showed them to me. One was written about his love of his family and the title of the other was "If I were a god." He said if I were a god, I would change bad people to good people, and make the world a peaceful place, etc." Will he be a good poet or writer? I don't know.

Ayako went to Sapporo to take care of Chiaki's boys.

Ayako went to Sapporo to take care of Arashi and Tokio, Chiaki's children, because Chiaki would come home from her work late in the evening. She left home at about 1:30, and will stay at Chiaki's house overnight. I went out for a walk and bought some tempura for dinner. On the way, I bought a crossword puzzle book.

Work in Furusato Noen

  In the morning, it rained only a little, though the forecast had said it would rain more. In the morning, I went alone to Furusato Noen, and dig a hole as deep as about 60 cm, and burried the grass and the stalks and stubbles. While working, it began to rain, so I had to come home at about 10:30.
  In the afternoon, I sent an email to Maria in Urguay, reporting on my travel in China. In China, by the way,  the demonstrators are still acting in many cities. I am sorry to hear that Japanese companies operating in China have been done much damage.   

The Hoaido Nippon Ham is on the top of the Pacific league.

It is hot today, too.  In the morning, I stood at the crossing when people greeted me saying "It's hot, isn't it?"

I went to Furusato Noen with Ayako to harvest potatoes.

  We have been waiting for consecutive fine days to come to harvest potatoes, but it was cloudy, today, too, and a very strong typhoon is approaching southern Japan, so we couldn't expect to have a good day in near future for harvesting. We went to Furusato Noen, and harvested potatoes and green soy beans ( edamame ). We gathered two and a half corrugated cardboards of potatoes, and about two bowls of edamame. We ate edamame for lunch and it was very good.

Out of order? No, I didn't find the place where the switch of the wireless was of may pc.

  Yesterday, I couldn't post in my blog, because, I thought, this p.c. was wrong, because I couldn't connect the Internet Explore. This morning, I went to the NEC appliance shop where we had bought electorical appliances. Ayako wanted to see refrigeraters and order some LED lamps. In the shop, I asked Mr.Hatano, the master of the shop, why I could not connect the Internet Explore, and was told where the switch of the wireless. After I returned home, I could find it easily and could connect it. How stupid I was! 

September 15 - A senior people's intercommunion party in the neighborhood

  Yesterday, September 15, we had a big banquet, which we decided to call "senior people's intercommunion party".

I went to the hospital to check my diabetes.

  It was fine and warm today. In the morning, I went to the hospital.　The result of the check-up was not bad. But, according to the endoscopic photo taken last month, there are some polyps in my colon which are slightly growing, so the doctor said he would cut them off next year.
  In the afternoon, I went to Furusato Noen. Tomatoes were ripen and red, so I picked them. Then I picked corns, but it was a bad harvest, and there were only five or six little corns. I pulled up all the stubbles. The weeds had grown tall, and I pulled them off, dug the land as deep as 50 cm, and buried them there.

In the baseball park in the morning, and in Furusato Noen in the afternoon.

 It was fine and warm today, too. In the morning, I went to the baseball park and saw a game between Tomakomai Higashi High and Tomakomai higher industry high school.

I went to the hospital to check my diabetes.

  It was fine and warm today. In the morning, I went to the hospital.

To see a High School Baseball game

  In some parts of Hokkaido, it rained heavily last night, and the rivers are flooding. In Iwamizawa, hundreds of people had to evacuate. The streets were submerged, and people were seen being saved by boats. But luckily nobody was killed or injured.
On the contrary, here in Tomakomai, only 100 km away, it didn't rain much, and the weather became good and warm. So, I went to the municipal baseball park and saw a high school baseball game in the autumn championship tournament between Komadai Tomakomai and Tomakomai Kogyo High School. The game was a close one but ended in Komazawa's victory by the score of 2-0. I returned home at about 11:30.
  In the afternoon, I stayed home.

I went to Chitose with 30 neighborhood association members.

  In the morning, it was raining heavily when I stood for a crossing guard. But the rain stopped when I returned home at 8:00. At 9:00, I got on a bus with 30 neighbors and started for Chitose. We were going to Chitose to learn about how to prevent ourselves from natural disasters such as earthquakes, tsunamis, fires, or eruptions of volcanos. There is a good institute named "Sonaeru", which means "Get ready". In the institute, we learned  how to evacuate from smoke in the burning building. Then, we could experience strong earthquakes, for example, the Tokachi off-the coast earthquake in 1952, and the Great Hanshin Awaji Earthquake, etc. Disasters will happen any time, so we always have to be ready.

It was the third rainy day in a row. An email from Miki san.

  It rained heavily almost all day. It was the third rainy day in a row. I didn't go out except for going by car with Ayako to an appliance shop to buy color ink for the printer.
  I sent an email to Ilsemarie yesterday, reporting on my travel to Shanghai, and I was thinking the same content os the mail to Maria in Urguay. But before I sent it to Maria, as I came to be unable to connect the Internet Explore, the script of the mail disappeared in the process to mend it, I lost the draft of the mail. I will have to write it from scratch.

Heavy rain in the morning. I went to the barber shop in the morning.

  When I left home by car to the barbershop, it was very windy, but was not raining. But after I returned home, it began to rain very heavily. The meteorological observatory had issued a heavy rain warning. Before I got into the house, I picked ripen tomatoes in the garden. So many tomatoes were ripen and had become very red.

A big harvest of tomatoes and pumpkins in Furusato Noen.

  It was a fine day. In the morning, I went alone to Furusato Noen. I went there to week, but I was happy to find many tomatoes were ripen and looked very red. I picked them and then, I harvested big nine pumpins. I weeded the field of daiko and came home at ab out 11:00 o'clock. Ayako presented some pumpkins to our neighbors.

What will happen to Japanese politics?

  Today's highest temperature was about 27 degrees, but the sky was blue all day and it was really an autumn-like day.

  Japanese political situation is still chaotic. In Japanese Democratic party convention which will be held soon, some congressmen are going to run for the head of the party. Mr.Hosono, who many party members wanted to run for it, turned it down, and Mr.Noda, the current prime minister,will be the safest candidate. But there is frustration in the party because  the Democratic party is now very unpopular among common people according to the recent poll. The prime minister has promised that he will dissolve the Diet in near future. If the Diet is dissolved, the general election will be held, and, as a result, it is expected that the Democratic party will be defeated.
  The largest opposition party, the Liberal Democratic party, will also hold the convention this month, and it is expected that Mr.Tanigaki, the present head of the party, will not be reelected. An influential new party is going to be born, being led by Mr.Toru Hashimoto. What will happen to Japanese politics?      

I succeeded in connecting the Internet Explore after I asked about it by phoning to the Cable TV company.

  I asked Tomakomai Cable TV by phone how I could recover the connection to the Internet Explore, because the connection was cut just after they had some construction work, and tried as I was instructed, then, I succeeded in it.
  It was cloudy with some scattered rain. In the morning, I left home to walk with an umbrella for the first time after having returned from the tour to Shanghai. I was tired. So, in the afternoon, I had a nap.
  The US presidntial nomination conventions are now being held. Mr.Mitt Romney was nominated as the candidate of the Republic Party last week, and Mr.Barrack Obama is going to be nominated in the Democratic National Convention now being held in Charlotte, North Carolina. Which of them will win? Nobody knows. The election will be held in November 6. 

I could not connect Internet Explore because of some construction work by Tomakomai Cable TV company.

  I couldn't post this passage yesterday, because I couldn't connect the Internet Explore.

It is unusually warm and humid for September in Hokkaido.

  How long will this hot and humid weather continue? In Sapporo and some other places in Hokaido, the highest temperature rose over 30 degrees three days in a row. In calendar, it is already September, autumn. But I am personally happy because I like hot days.
  I stayed at home all day, cooling myself with the electric fan.  I am enjoying a crossword puzzle.
 

Banquet for senior people is to be held on September 15.

Our neighborhood association will hold a banquet for senior people on September 15. This evening, I attended the meeting to talk about it. Until last year, this banquet had been held for respecting seniors and every neighborhood association was subsidized by the city, but as the budget became tighter, it became difficult for the city to subsidize it. The people qualified to attend the banquet are over 75 years old, and I am qualified and am invited, but I will have to pay 500 yen.   

Why is there the terretorial dispute about Takeshima Island between Japan and Korea?

  Isn't there any solution of trritorial dispute about little islands around Japan?  Today, a group of people from Tokyo prefecture went to Senau Islands by boat to survey the islands which China insists soveregnty over. When the world War II ended, Japan had to give away the islands Japan had taken over and occupied by force. But by the San Fransisco Peace Treaty, some little islands located around Japan were not clearly decided which country they belonged to. They were Takeshima Island, Senkaku Islands and some northern islands. How can we decide which country they belong to ?  I am afraid these kinds of territorial disputes have often developed into war.
  Today, I didn't go anywhere but went with Ayako to see a little "autumn festival" being held in Toyokawa cho, along my regular walking path "Komorebi no mori". We walked seeing little stands along the walking path, and bought pizza for lunch and came home.  

I worked in the garden today,too.

 It is already September 1, though it was still warm and humid. In the morning, I weeded in my garden. Weeds had grown thick, so I had to work almost all morning. In the little field I had made at the eastern corner of the garden, vegetables were growing well. I picked a bowlful of small-size-tomatoes, and another bowlful of eggplants. String beans had grown well but it was too late to eat them as podded beans. I found five or six pumpkins growing here and there in the garden. I am happy to see them  growing in my kitchen garden.